I Can't Do This

[Lizzie71]

I have had my small 34 litre tank up and running since late September. Since that time, I have been through:

high nitrites because although I had media from an established tank, my tank wasn't fully cycled at first

unwanted platy fry despite having all female fish

a power cut resulting in 4 fish deaths

an otto which totally disappeared, never found the body

green algae everywhere which I can't get off with a scraper

beard algae on my plants which the ottos (bought for that very purpose) won't touch

And since the power cut two weeks ago, I can't get the ammonia back down to 0. Today it is 0.4 again so I've just done another 50% water change. I feel like taking back all the fish and listing the tank on ebay.

 

[Davo86]

Hi Lizzie71
i'm very sorry that you feel that way, i think personally the size of your tank is likely to be the casue of many of your problems, maybe we can help you with some reasons as to why things aren't going as planned,

can i ask:
what and how many fish you currently have?
How long do you leave the light on for each day?

 

[jeej]

You're always gonna have trouble with a tank that small. I remember as a kid having a tiny little rectangular tank with an under gravel filter. It housed three Goldfish and those little bastards could turn the whole thing thick green in less than two weeks!

 

[Majjie]

I haven't read your previous threads Lizzie, so don't know the history of your tank. Neither can I see what's in it - because you haven't filled in any tank details on your profile.

If you wanted a tropical fish tank because you thought it would be restful; something tranquil to look at .... then, yes, you should perhaps give up ... because there's always something to worry about with a fish tank!

On the other hand ... it's continually fascinating to try and get your tank(s) just right and your fish happy. Have there been no days when you've just been happy with your tank and fish? Have you not spent hours just staring at it with a big smile on your face? If you have, then it may just be worth persevering.

If it was really easy ... then you'd get no satisfaction (eventually) in getting it right ... for at least some of the time.

It's terrible when things go wrong, especially when fish die ... but as long as you are doing your best ... then there's no point worrying about it.

One of the best things you can do is loads of research. Your tank is still quite young for Otto's to be happy in it and they will never eat long stringy algae. They're specialists in the shallow film algae that you get on glass and rocks ... I've had mine clear a dark green rock, making it look good as new ... but they won't clear the glass and they won't eat any long stuff. (I'm not an expert on algae types ... can you tell? )

You're tank is also very small ... which makes it inherently less stable than a bigger tank. Time will make it more stable .... but a bigger tank, like a 70 litre/approx. 20 gal would be easier to look after.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Some good advice above. I wouldn't give up on t as fishkeeping can be a very enjoyable hobby and it is very satisfying when you sit back and watch a tank full of healthy, happy, fish. It does take some work to get to that stage but it it no more work then keeping any other animal (and a lot, lot less then some).

I agree that the tank size is an issue. Smaller tanks can be really nice but they are a lot more difficult to maintain. When things go wrong they go wrong faster and more drastically then in a large tank where you have more water volume. For example 1ppm ammonia in 5gallons is 0.1ppm in 50gallons.

How many fish do you have and what kind of filtration system do you use? This will help to pinpoint where problems could be.

Algae is common in all new tanks and will evetuanlly go away by itself in most cases as long as ammonia and nitrite are kept at zero and nitrate is kept very low (Ie cycled tank and regular partial water changes).

What I would recommend is going for a larger tank (the bigger the better). Make sure you get a good fitration system (I would recommend an external filter) and do weekly water changes (look in the DIY section for "python wwater change system" this makes water changes very easy).

Have a look at the "moss balls" and floating plants you can get as well. These will use most of the nutrients in the water coloumn and help kill off any algae by starving it of its food source. Fish like oto's are great for clearing small amounts of algae that all tanks have but unless you cut off the source of the algae it will outgrow even the most active of algae eaters.

So, dont give up but do seriously consider geting a bigger tank. It will be a lot easier to look after.

 

[Chri$]

Some great advice above

I would buy a bigger tank - something at least 20 gallons and start from fresh.

 

[Lizzie71]

OK, thanks everyone. Sorry I forgot to give the details on the tank, I was feeling like a good moan earlier!

The tank currently holds 3 female platys, 2 ottos, and 2 hengels rasboras (I lost 4 last week and because I haven't stabilised the tank, I haven't replaced them yet). Also 3-4 3 week old platy fry which I won't be keeping once they grow up. This was the tank when it was first set up. The plants are still the same, except with more algae And the glass is covered with what looks like green chicken pox now.

I was very happy with it a while back when it had the 3 platys and the rasboras. Ottos may have been a mistake but the remaining 2 (of 3 originally) seem happy and healthy so I'm bearing with them for now.

I would love a bigger tank but dh is very unhappy that I got one at all, and has said he would be very unhappy if I got a bigger one. Maybe next year I'll talk him into it. In the meantime I just need to persevere with getting this one right.

 

[mrbudgie]

the bigger the tank the easier it is to look after as it will have a larger buffer zone before the fish feel the effects from high nitrates ect...

 

[Davo86]

Hi Lizzie71
have you tested for nitrates and nitrites recently? you will probably find that due to the amount of fish you have in the unestablished tank that some of the parameters are possibly higher than they should be,

Also as it is a really small amount of water i wouldn't be inclined to do more than a 20% water change at one time, unless you can guarantee the temperatures are about even. This will help as the fish won't be stressed due to sudden temp changes. once the tank is stable weekly changes of 20% should be enough to keep away any major problems.

Also how long is the light left on? the images seems quite bright although that just may be the flash, generally anything longer than 8-10 hours and you will have more algae growth than usual

 

[Lizzie71]

Testing today (before water change) showed ammonia 0.4, nitrite 0 and nitrate 12.5. PH is steady at around 7.5. I even up the temperatures as best I can by adding some boiled water from the kettle into the bucket at each water change so that it's not freezing cold from the tap.

Light is on 9-10 hours a day. In the image, the lights were on as well as the flash, so that's why it looks rather bright.

I might look at getting a moss ball, thanks for the tip.